Ahead of the winter games in South Korea, Vice President Mike Pence said the U.S. will impose the toughest economic sanctions ever on North Korea.
Pence will lead the U.S. delegation, and made the announcement overnight while meeting with Japan’s prime minster.
He added he's not ruling out the possibility of meeting with north Korean leaders while at the games.
North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, is also sending his sister to the games.
So, will the opening ceremony turn into an international incident?
The North and South have agreed to march under one flag, but some believe this is the North trying to steal the spotlight, others calling it a breakthrough for diplomacy.
Dozens of Houston area Korean American community members are set to protest the North Korean leader and his regime Wednesday morning. A demonstration happening just a day before the winter games.
A game the South Korea government is referring to as the "Peace Games."
"It's usually a source of national pride, and this is one of those unique Olympics that the host nation is actually sharing the limelight with another country," said David Shin, president-elect, with the Korean American Association of Houston.
That stage will be shared with their neighbor to the north.
The two nations even uniting their women's hockey team into one, for the first time ever.
But after a year of tensions, many are questioning this new friendship between the North and South.
"And in that sense, many of the Koreans felt like South Korea was too lenient, too open,” said Mark Shim, chairman of the Korean American Society of Houston.
And with the two Korea’s technically still at war, it's a delicate balancing act.
"Whether that decision was right or wrong, history will tell," said Shim.
One thing that’s for sure, many are hoping a unified Olympics will lead to peace on the Korean peninsula.
Now this isn’t the first time North Korea has taken part in the Olympics, but given the current political climate, some say their participation is an insurance policy from a security standpoint.